Returning from Chicago, trailing 0-2 in the 1984 National League Championship Series, the Padres' chin resided on their chests.

But their fans' heart trumped the reality of another loss meaning elimination. Their support, in a way, helped those unlikely Padres to the World Series.

Thousands of the team's faithful met them when arriving from Chicago. When the series resumed at then Jack Murphy Stadium, it was Cub-Buster T-shirts in the stands and eardrum-busting noise reaching the field.

Down but not out, the Padres rallied and has The Murph ever stopped shaking since Steve Garvey's dramatic Game 4 home run?

"It was really special being a part of turning on a city for the first time, going to the World Series for the first time,'' Gossage said.

Gossage, a Hall of Famer, was the closer that magical season and on the mound when the Padres won Game 5.

While most associate Gossage with the Yankees, or as a hard-thrower youngster with the White Sox, he said what Padres baseball meant in '84 can never be eclipsed.

"There's nothing like being part of doing something for the first time,'' he said. "I can't tell you how much it meant to be part of it.''

It's a compelling tale, and it'll be told at this week's Marshall Faulk Celebrity Championship at the La Costa Resort & Spa. Gossage, who plays to a 7-handicap, is in the field which includes former sports stars Marcus Allen, Joe Morgan, Jerry Rice and actors Ray Romano and Brian Baumgartner.

Gossage's office is no longer the diamond, so he turned to golf.

"It's the only thing we have now that gets our competitive juices flowing again and the camaraderie with the guys from different sports is a lot of fun,'' he said. "And it's great seeing the fans that used to enjoy what you did.''

What the Padres accomplished during Southern California's Olympic summer ignited a torch of passion some find hard to fathom.

But if you were here, you know Gossage's memory is keen.

"It was a team with personality and characters,'' said Gossage, 61, retired and living in Colorado Springs, Colo. "But we played good old-fashioned hard ball.''

The Padres' rotation had no one with more than 15 wins, although all four starters had at least 11. A skinny kid from San Diego State, Tony something or another, won the first of his eight batting titles.

The Cubs featured MVP Ryne Sandberg and Cy Young Award winner Rick Sutcliffe; the Padres didn't have a hitter with 100 RBIs, and just two, had 20 homers.

But the Padres possessed a savvy manager in Dick Williams, and his no-nonsense approach was embraced.

"We had some young guys, but the nucleus had been around a little,'' Gossage said. "The core guys like Graig Nettles, Garvey, Tim Flannery and Garry Templeton, the greatest shortstop I ever played with.''

Which meshed with the gruff Williams, the toughest manager, Gossage said, he ever played for.

"And that is saying something,'' said Gossage, who mentioned Chuck Tanner, his White Sox skipper.

"My job was to get hitters out and that was what Dick wanted; it was never a social thing with him. He was so demanding and didn't tolerate mental mistakes.

"We had fun, but it was all business once the games started and that is the way it should be. We knew our jobs and Dick never sugar-coated anything: you either did it or you didn't.''

The Padres did it in the 1984 NLCS, with Gossage notching the final out. He went 10-6 that season, with a 2.90 ERA and 25 saves.

A World Series loss to the Tigers followed. A world-class memory never faded.